Black Sun: Corporate Reporting Proves a Positive in a Negative
Economic Climate
With current economic uncertainty and the growing demand for
increased disclosure and transparency making the annual reporting
process more difficult than ever before, many companies are asking is
it all worth it. Encouragingly the results of a recent survey of
institutional investors by Black Sun, the corporate reporting
experts, say yes - companies are getting a return on their investment
when it comes to quality reporting.
Overall, the survey found that 88% of respondents identified the
Annual Report as the most credible reporting tool in assisting them
to make better investment decisions. An overwhelming 89% also agreed
that the annual reports that contained greater insights into a
company's business strategy and action plans aided this process.
The survey goes on to reaffirm that in today's volatile market
investors want to communicate more with management. A staggering 90%
of sell-side and buy-side investors stated that in this current
economic climate, increased transparency and disclosure has a
positive impact on their confidence in a company. Unsurprisingly
however, risk is still a key area for improvement with only 49% of
investors believing companies are providing greater insight into
their key risks in their annual reports.
But toeing the line to just meet legislative requirements is not
enough, 91% of respondents felt that providing clear links between a
company's strategy and the objectives and targets of a company builds
investor confidence in a company's sustainable value.
And in terms of an Annual Report's longevity, over 70% of analysts
surveyed review companies' annual reports, analyst presentations and
corporate websites at least quarterly and 50% reviewed them on a
weekly or monthly basis. This puts the Annual Report as the most
critical communications tool a company has to offer.
Black Sun CEO, David Christopherson comments, "The results of this
survey show the importance of the role the annual report plays in
today's challenging markets and that those companies who provide
quality disclosure and communications can preserve investor
confidence".
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For further information please contact:
David Christopherson, CEO: christophersond@blacksunplc.com tel: 0207
736 0011
Claire Waters, Marketing Manager: cwaters@blacksunplc.com tel: 0207
736 0011
Notes to Editors
Black Sun plc is an award winning international corporate reporting
consultancy and communications agency.
It has a unique research and insight driven approach which enables
them to bridge the gap between the legal and regulatory aspects of
corporate reporting and the content and creative elements of
communication.
Black Sun plc delivers 'integrated reporting solutions' that
encompass a powerful combination of best practice advice on strategy,
creative, and multi-channel delivery, through annual reports, CSR
reports, online reports, investor presentations and corporate
websites.
Clients include: BAE Systems, BG Group, Burberry, Carlsberg, DTZ
Holdings, Kazakhmys, Standard Chartered Bank and Tullow Oil
Recent awards include:
BG Group 2008: Thomson Reuters Award for, "Best Annual Report for
Investors"
Legal & General 2008: UK IR Society Award for, "Best practice
communications print and online"
NMLK: 2008 Expert RA for, "Best Annual Report" (Russia) and 2008
Securities Market Journal for, "Best level of information disclosure"
in Annual Reports (Russia)
Tullow Oil: 2008 UK IR Society for, "Most improved Annual Reports"
This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is
solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
